How One Mom is Helping Her Child Fight Cancer with Holistic Detox Therapies

Today my sweet friend Season Johnson shares the story of her son’s battle with Leukemia and how they’re using holistic therapies to help him recover. Kicker’s story is such an inspiration. I’m so proud Season is allowing us to follow along on their journey, and is also using it as an opportunity to help others. Please check out her blog, Facebook Page and Instagram (I love her instagram feed…it’s so inspiring!).

When your job is to help people heal from and prevent disease and then your 3-year old gets cancer; your only choice is to choose strength and then take matters into your own hands. My sweet little boy, Kicker, was diagnosed with Leukemia, on December 4th, 2013. As a holistic nutritionist with a background and education in holistic healthcare, I’m fortunate to have the tools and resources necessary to help my child not only heal from cancer, but fight with grace and strength. Once my son was diagnosed, we realized that we had no other choice but to place him in the hands of conventional medicine. He would be taken away from us if we did not do chemo. I immediately employed a team of alternative physicians and practitioners to support us through the fight of our lives.

I began to research and study cancer, and quickly realized it’s NOT a death sentence. The statistics you hear do not have to apply universally. If we begin to look at cancer as a metabolic disease and a symptom of unbalance in our bodies, we can proceed with treatment by addressing the underlying cause of the disease, heal the body from within and declare more and more people cancer-free.

It’s important to understand that we all have cancer cells in our bodies; in fact we make them every single day.

It’s a matter of what we put in our body, what we’re exposed to environmentally, how physically active we are and how strong our immune system is that will determine whether or not those cancer cells grow and become active.

Participating in routine detox to rid the body of the processed foods, environmental toxins and medications we’re exposed to is a major player in preventing and healing from disease. Most pediatric cancer patients die from treatment, not from the disease. In fact, it’s very rare that a child dies from cancer alone, they most often die from opportunist infections. These infections present themselves due to a severely weakened immune system, induced by the harsh and toxic treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, prophylactic antibiotics and steroids, etc.

It seems obvious to me that one of the most important parts of treating cancer should be detoxing the body. In addition to the toxic chemotherapy drugs that are pumped into these tiny little bodies on a regular basis, breaking down a tumor with chemo releases dead tumor waste that’s extremely toxic to the body and needs to be eliminated. I’ve yet to meet an Oncologist who advises their patients to detox the dead cancer cells out. It makes sense to me that this could be a reason many cancers come back. Our bodies have the ability to naturally detox through urine, waste and sweat but that’s not nearly enough to push the toxic medications and dead cancer cells out.

Here’s what I’m doing to help my son fight for his life

I’ve taken matters into my own hands and Kicker has not experienced any side effects from the 100+ doses of chemotherapy he’s received. I hope you’ll benefit from learning what we’ve done to support his body. Aside from following a ketogenic diet, and implementing a therapeutic protocol for immune support, we’ve done four detox therapies for him.

1. Castor Oil Pack Detox

The castor oil pack is specifically for detox. In my experience, it’s very effective when dealing with non-cancerous uterine fibroids and ovarian cysts. Other conditions which seem to respond well include headaches, liver disorders, constipation, intestinal disorders, gallbladder inflammation or stones, conditions with poor elimination, nighttime urinary frequency, and inflamed joints. Kicker holds the castor oil pack against his liver for at least 20 minutes (the length of a cartoon) and does this five nights a week.

Some details should you and your medical professional decide to use castor oil packs:

You may fall asleep and wear the pack all night if needed. If using a heating pad, unplug it before falling asleep.

For maximum effectiveness, apply the pack as often as possible – at least four consecutive days per week for at least 4-6 weeks. Daily use provides the most beneficial effects.

2. Detox Bath with Epsom Salt and Baking Soda

The sulfates in Epsom salt help flush toxins and heavy metals from the cells, easing muscle pain and helping the body to eliminate harmful substances. Your skin is a highly porous membrane – adding the right minerals to your bathwater triggers a process called reverse osmosis, which actually pulls salt out of your body, and harmful toxins along with it. The baking soda helps rid the body of chemicals from food, drugs, radiation exposure, etc.

3. Nebulize for Glutathione production We purchased this nebulizer and our Osteopath put together a ‘cocktail’ of detox nutrients to stimulate Kicker’s glutathione production. This very important antioxidant helps prevent damage to cells. As Dr. Mark Hyman states, “(Glutathione) is the most important molecule you need to stay healthy and prevent disease.” Although our bodies naturally produce glutathione, when the liver is burdened with toxins (medicine, environmental toxins, radiation, etc) our body becomes incapable of producing the necessary amount – making it an important part of cancer detox. For more on the importance on glutathione, and how to make sure you aren’t deficient, read this. Contact your holistic physician or work with an alternative pharmacy, like this one.

4. Green Juice This green juice is important to our detoxification routine. It assists in the rapid removal of metabolic wastes from the body and the rebuilding of damaged tissues. Juicing helps clear the kidneys of toxins and contribute to the proper digestion of food.

Photo credits: All photos were taken by Season Johnson and used with permission.

Disclaimer: This information is designed for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting your family doctor. Please consult a doctor with any questions or concerns you might have regarding your condition.

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18 Comments

I am always saddened to learn about children who have cancer. I think it's great that you have come up with some alternative therapies to help your son. My son was born with a rare genetic disorder and was hospitalized frequently for pneumonia; he was on a ventilator a few times and they told me they couldn't save him anymore and he would most likely die from pneumonia. In early 2009, he had a collapsed lung and in late 2009, the day before his Make a Wish trip, he ran a slight fever and was admitted to the ICU only to have respiratory failure the following day. It was six months before he could recover enough to sit up two hours for the flight to Disney. After our trip, I decided to take things into my own hands and make some changes. I started with Now Foods Organic Coconut Oil to prevent colds, flu and pneumonia after reading about it on this blog. My son has a feeding tube so it took me about six months to figure out the right amount. The following year, I created my own blenderized diet made of whole foods, mostly organic. My son gets some 15 servings of fruits/veg a day plus all organic protein sources. Like you, we don't do anything that processed or any supplements that are powdered, etc. Our food is his nutrition. I met with a nutritionist that specialized in blenderized diets to make sure I wasn't missing anything. Prior to making these changes, my son was hospitalized some 3 to 4 times a year, mostly for pneumonia. Our billed charges went from $100k-$500k a year to less than $10k a year (for routine blood works and general wellness visits) .After I made these changes, we went nearly five years without a hospitalization. The organic coconut oil also got rid of my son's dystonia (movement disorder), helped him lose weight and his acne disappeared once he was off of the formula. Cognitively, he went through the roof-my son is severely developmentally delayed and his brain just worked so much better it was mind boggling. My son has a progressive neurological disease related to his random gene mutation however he's done remarkedly well. I might suggest you check out Dr. Mary Newport's blog called, "Coconut Oil and Ketones". She used organic coconut oil and an organic diet to reverse her husband's Alzheimer's disease. In my opinion, respectfully, using organic coconut oil is superior to the ketogenic diet. The MCT in coconut oil are converted into ketones without the need for a ketogenic diet. I like to think of the ketogenic diet as more "old school" and organic coconut oil as "new school". I've tried a few different brands but the brand I found to be most effective for my son was Now Foods. I never use anything else and no I am not affiliated with them in any way. I give my son organic coconut oil every day for wellness and if he's coming down with something, I increase it and that takes care of it. My son is medically fragile. I also found the book, "Never Be Sick Again" to be invaluable when I created his diet. It essentially talks about disease on a cellular level similar to everything you've mentioned above. That book changed the way I think about sickness and disease in general. I then based my son's diet on some books I had read on superfoods so my son's blenderized diet consists of whole foods, most super foods and mostly organic. Since toxins are stored in fat, I make certain that all protein sources are organic. I never vary on that. I also make all of my son's foods from scratch. It certainly takes more time but it's worth it. I make 20-21/21 meals a week from scratch and I've been doing it for four years now. I feed him one cup of food every half hour (I use 60 cc syringes.) so it takes a while. I had to get approval from the insurance company since no one does blenderized diets and uses syringes, lol. Good luck to you and you son and family on your journey. I know first hand how difficult it is to use natural, alternative medicine in the face of conventional medicine. I've always found it ironic that these major teaching hospitals prescribe formula with high fructose corn syrup for kids with feeding tubes instead of whole foods. The sugar in the formula weakens the immune system and they essentially will never get well on that. The nutrition departments never once even recommended a blenderized diet. These alternative natural therapies need to be shared so that other people understand how beneficial they can be. I will pray for your son and your family. You are doing a great job.

Thank you so much for your sweet words and good for you mama! I love hearing the healing your son has experienced because you took matters into your own hands! Thank you for the recommendations, I will look into those! We do use coconut oil daily, in fact Kicker brushes his teeth with it and eats a big chunk every night before bed :) XO

Thank you for this! Your story and regime give me HOPE that others will use this approach. Also, your family gives me HOPE that even tho cancer does happen to regular people who eat/live well...our family members can fight the battle strong and successfully!

If I can recommend something... We went to Imago sensitive that showed us what lives in us. People with cancer have usually liver fluke and other dangerous parasites. Me and my family undergo treatment on Plasma Generator. I m from Europe, so I do not know how it is in USA, but Plasma helped us a lot with health problems. We are also on diet without grains, legumes and processed food. I hope your child will recover! Bara

That is very interesting! In fact, in my research most people with cancer have a very hard time detoxing, which is why they can become more susceptible to cancer. So it would make since that there could be parasites. I will look into this for sure, thank you so much for sharing!

Thank you Carrie for posting Kicker's story. What an inspiration! What I notice most about him is the fact that he doesn't have any of the usual chemo/radiation puffiness that comes along with all the antibiotics and steroids that are pumped into cancer patients. He is precious! This story, and most importantly the way Season and her husband have chosen to treat Kicker, is A testimony to God's grace and His unfailing love to never leave or forsake us. If only more doctors believed in the healing powers of nutrition. What a blessing for Kicker to be in the hands of an amazing mama and blessed with the gift of nutrition throughout his treatment. You go Kicker! We are praying for your complete healing. Be strong in the LORD and the power of His might. Jesus loves you!

Thank you!! We have been so blessed that God gave us the tools and resources we needed to help our son fight! And you are correct, he hasn't had any side effects from his treatment! Thank you for your kind words and your prayers, we covet prayers :)

This story touches a place close to my heart, as it just devastates me to see children suffering from this terrible disease when it can be prevented. I beat cancer with Laetrile/Vitamin B17, which is a concentrated form of apricot kernels (it's found inside the large pit; just break it open and you'll find a almond-like kernel which kills cancer). I don't sell this. I'm just getting my story out. Here's where you can get the seeds: www.apricotsfromgod.info. And here's a story written by a father whose newborn daughter was diagnosed with cancer and was cured by these seeds. You can read my story at the website I provided. Bless you for sharing this. Sandi (the story is below) In 1978 my youngest daughter was born with a Stage 5 cancerous tumor ("Fibrous Sarcoma") on her lower back close to her spinal cord. The Doctors told us there was little hope for her survival. As the tumor had already begun to attach itself to her spine and once it entered into her spinal fluid it would spread throughout her body. The only thing they said they could do was to perform an emergency operation on her to remove the tumor. However they said that chances were 80% or better that the tumor would return. And if it did return she had absolutely no chance of survival. So at just 1 1/2 months old she underwent a 4 hour surgery to remove the tumor. In the meantime I went to the public library and started reading anything I could find about alternative treatments for cancer. That is when I came across "World Without Cancer" by G. Edward Griffin at the Atlanta Public Library. As soon as my daughter returned home after her surgery, my wife and I followed the books instructions and began feeding her ground up Apricot kernels in her baby cereal every morning. We continued to do so until she was 3 years old. The cancer never returned and she is now a healthy 29 year old mother of 3. Later, the Doctors told us that they were actually 100% sure that her cancer would return. Because Fibrous Sarcoma was such a virulent form of cancer that if they missed even a single microscopic cell it would re-propagate and kill her. But they didn't want to tell us that, because they wanted us to have some hope. Her Doctors also scoffed at us for feeding our infant daughter the Apricot kernels. 3 years later when she was still cancer free they were no longer scoffing at us.

This is amazing! I have been researching apricot kernels lately-it is a shame that despite the incredible research and evidence that it can help cancer, the FDA won't approve it for treatment. Thank you for sharing your inspiring story!

Hi Season, thank you so much for sharing your story! It truly has given me hope! I have two questions for you if you feel up to answering. 1) Have you read about Dr. Nick Gonzalez? I'm interested in what you would have to say about his articles on the ketogenic diet, specifically how cancers will eventually adapt and begin metabolizing ketones for energy, then come back with a vengence. 2) How on earth have you handled such a young boy in going through so much unpleasantness? All I can imagine if I were to try to have my child use a castor oil pack or drink green juice is a huge mess as she threw everything in a tantrum or spewed out all the juice all over the floor screaming "yucky!" Or she'd subsist on air and anger for days on end refusing to only eat meat and veggies. I've had these battles since she first started solids and 3 years later I'm at my wits end. It's shocking to me that your son would be agreeable to that on top of all the medical trauma.

This is so, so wonderful to read. Our son was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma in August of 2011. We use many of these same techniques. We were also at the mercy of the conventional medicine system. We declined prophylactic antibiotics, declined giving him a g-tube/formula and I continued to nurse him against our oncologist advice. He did 12 weeks of chemo in 13 weeks, not have a single secondary infection. We also used massage therapy and had an aromatherapist. I was on my own for nutrition as the nutritionist on staff didn't have any concept of eating to heal. He is three years into remission and beside the large scar he has from removing the cantaloupe size tumor, you would never know he had cancer.